Microsoft accidentally teases Windows 9 in China

Windows 9 got some press early Tuesday from Microsoft itself, although it wasn’t exactly intentional. In a posting on Chinese site Weibo, Microsoft China posed the question: “Microsoft’s latest OS Windows 9 is coming soon, do you think the start menu at the left bottom will make a come back?” A Windows 9 logo used as a mockup also popped up on the page, according to The Verge. The post and logo were soon removed, but not before Chinese site Cnbeta managed to take a screenshot.

Microsoft’s internal censors seem to be sleeping on the job this year. In June, the Surface Pro 3 manual included several references to a small-screen Surface Mini despite the fact that a small-screen Surface Mini was never actually released. And now, as rumors of Windows 9 swirl, Microsoft China appears to have confirmed the impending reveal. Posting to Weibo—a Chinese social media site—Microsoft China posed its followers a question: “Microsoft’s latest OS Windows 9 is coming soon, do you think the start menu at the left bottom will make a comeback?” (Translation courtesy of The Verge.) Oops. And not just because Microsoft has already announced the return of the Start menu. The post was accompanied by a screenshot of a Windows 9 logo mock-up by Shy Designs, seen above. Microsoft China appears to have quickly realized the error of its ways, as the Weibo message has since been removed, though not before Cnbeta noticed and first reported it.